This book was originally published in 1899 when the northern and northeastern parts of present-day Thailand were still called Laos. This changed when Prince Damrong created the Thai nation state as well as a Thai identity. Hence, the French were only able to lay claim to the territory on the left bank of the Mekong. These folktales were part of the oral cultural tradition before the author, a missionary, undertook to preserve this cultural heritage, by recording many aspects of rural life in northern Siam.